M&P Shield

Looks like it is directly competing with the Kahr CW9, Ruger LC9, and Kel-Tec PF9. One thing of note is that it has a manual thumb safety that looks damn near identical to the one of the Bodyguard .380. I don’t like manual safeties on DAO-style guns, but when it comes to putting them on guns, Ruger and S&W did it right with their subcompacts as the safeties are streamlined nubs that feel a little difficult to engage, but are VERY easy to bump off. Also this means that for Massachusetts sale there is no need for a “Massachusetts Trigger”, like on the double-stack M&Ps that don’t have a safety.

S&W did something that I think Ruger really should have done with the LC9. The LC9 comes with two mags, one with a flat base pad, and one with a finger extension. S&W has a flush mag and an extended mag with a grip adapter, so the mag is bigger, but it holds more as well.

They’re all also in the same price-field between $300-$400 NIB which is very reasonable. My vote is still for the Kahr CW9 just because its been around longer, and has more magazine options, and no unnecessary safeties. That being said, just like the countless polymer “Service Pistols” (such as the M&P9, Glock 17, Ruger SR9, Springfield XD, etc) the more guns in the class the better the chance of each individual finding the gun that fits them the best.

Also on an industry perspective its nice to see that all the major gun companies are jumping in with both feet at getting compact and powerful carry guns to a nation that is rapidly embracing concealed carry, and striking down unnecessary restrictions on self defense.

I have an M&P 9 and my only real complaint is the trigger. If the video is right and this new gun has the best trigger of all the M&P pistols, I’d love to have one. Unfortunately, I just can’t justify the purchase.

When I shopped around for a pocket pistol, the LC9 was too big to slip comfortably in my pocket. I’d imagine the M&P shield would be the same way. If I’m going to wear the gun on my hip, I’ll do the same as bluesun and wear my XD Sub Compact.

I really do like what I see though. I’d like to have one just for the sake of having one but if I ran out and bought every gun that caught my eye, my wife would kill me and the credit card company would have a bounty on my head.

Yeah the Shield seems to be about the exact dimensions as the LC9, CW9, P9, FS9, and to shake it up, my PM45. That size is just a hair smaller than a S&W J-Frame, but still a good bit bigger than the slightly smaller 9s like the MP9 CM9, or Diamondback 9, as well as all the micro .380s out there.

For me If I’m not going to carry it in my pocket I’d rather have a bigger gun. Still some people need a tiny gun for concealment reasons if they wear a specific wardrobe or have a smaller frame.

Well, I just did some looking around, and it seems all the Major and most of the Minor Firearm Manufacturers now have at least one Single Stack 9mm in their lineup. Some are Poly, some are Metal, but they all seem to fit into the Every Day, Just in Case, Concealed Carry, Smaller Handgun Line Up.

Except one Major Company.

Glock.

Now, I’m not saying that they’ll be another Hi-Cap Magazine Ban down the road, but just in case there is, all the manufacturers have something in their Catalog.

Except Glock.

Yes, yes I know they have the nice Sub Compacts. But they’re Double Stack. And trust me, just because you can put a 33 round Mag in a Glock 26, doesn’t mean that the everyday CHP holder will CARRY it, especially in August.

Gee, do you think Gaston is EVER gonna “Get It?” Or is Glock going to have to pull a Ruger and wait for the Old Man to Croak?

(And I know the Springfield Xd’s are Double Stack, but they have to bring those in from Europe, which is a mess with all the EU Bailouts. But I believe they still have a Commander-type 9mm in their Catalog, and I’m sure they’re just looking at how they can handle some re-tooling of the Production Line when it gets cheap enough to do so. And I know H+K and FN are still “not drinking the Kool-Aid,” but they have the same EU Money situation).

But the Glock Plant in Georgia has been there a LONG Time, and I’m sure most of it’s paid for. So what’s the Hold Up? Even KelTec is expanding their facilities.

My Kel-Tec P-11 does everything that a Glock 26 does, only in a smaller package. It has a ten-round double-stack magazine, but it fits into the pocket of my slacks. (If I’m wearing jeans, I have my 1911 and a shirt covering it.) It also takes fifteen round S&W 59 magazines, so a spare of that rides in a different pocket.

That being said, this new gun looks good, especially in .40 caliber, when that comes out.

I carry my PM45 in my jeans pocket with little issue outside of the general drawback of getting your hand into the pocket to start the draw. My PM45 is aproximately the same size as the P11, Kahr P9/40, CW9/40, Ruger LC9, and the M&P Shield, the only difference is just width and weight, and those are all in spitting distances, with the possible exception of the PM45 which just depends on how far you can spit.

I like the looks of it, but the safety might be a deal breaker for me for one reason. It’s set up for the right handed folks, and being my wife’s a southpaw, I try to make sure that anything I have she can use if necessary.

I bought a Kahr CM9 and made some monoficatiids: put some JB Weld on the front of the magazine follower to allow chambering with pulling the slide back, added night sights, put a picece of bent brass in the bottom chanel to allow fast mag changes without catching the 9mm rim on the mag well wall and rounded some of the sharp corners. The gun gets much smoother the more you use it. The trigger keeps getting lighter and smoother. I can﻿ shoot this gun about as good as my Glock 19.